Engineering topics

Vilan, Ayelet

Publications and source records attributed to Vilan, Ayelet.

4 records

DOE OSTI2022

Magnetic control over the fundamental structure of atomic wires

When reducing the size of materials towards the nanoscale, magnetic properties can emerge due to structural variations. Here, we show the reverse effect, where the structure of nanomaterials is controlled by magnetic manipulations. Using the break-junction technique, we find that the interatomic distance in platinum atomic wires is shorter or longer by up to ~20%, when a magnetic field is applied parallel or perpendicular to the wires during their formation, respectively. The magnetic field direction also affects the wire length, where longer (shorter) wires are formed under a parallel (perpendicular) field. Our experimental analysis, supported by calculations, indicates that the direction of the applied magnetic field promotes the formation of suspended atomic wires with a specific magnetization orientation associated with typical orbital characteristics, interatomic distance, and stability. A similar effect is found for various metal and metal-oxide atomic wires, demonstrating that magnetic fields can control the atomistic structure of different nanomaterials when applied during their formation stage.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2016

Insulator charging limits direct current across tunneling metal-insulator-semiconductor junctions

Molecular electronics studies how the molecular nature affects the probability of charge carriers to tunnel through the molecules. Nevertheless, transport is also critically affected by the contacts to the molecules, an aspect that is often overlooked. Specifically, the limited ability of non-metallic contacts to maintain the required charge balance across the fairly insulating molecule often have dramatic effects. This paper shows that in the case of lead/organic monolayer-silicon junctions, a charge balance is responsible for an unusual current scaling, with the junction diameter (perimeter), rather than its area. This is attributed to the balance between the 2D charging at the metal/insulator interface and the 3D charging of the semiconductor space-charge region. A derivative method is developed to quantify transport across tunneling metal-insulator-semiconductor junctions; this enables separating the tunneling barrier from the space-charge barrier for a given current-voltage curve, without complementary measurements. The paper provides practical tools to analyze specific molecular junctions compatible with existing silicon technology, and demonstrates the importance of contacts' physics in modeling charge transport across molecular junctions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2012

Epitaxial two dimensional aluminum films on silicon (111) by ultra-fast thermal deposition

Aluminum thin films are known for their extremely rough surface, which is detrimental for applications such as molecular electronics and photonics, where protrusions cause electrical shorts or strong scattering. We achieved atomically flat Al films using a highly non-equilibrium approach. Ultra-fast thermal deposition (UFTD), at rates >10 nm/s, yields RMS roughness of 0.4 to 0.8 nm for 30-50 nm thick Al films on variety of substrates. For UFTD on Si(111) substrates, the top surface follows closely the substrate topography (etch pits), indicating a 2D, layer-by-layer growth. The Al film is a mixture of (100) and (111) grains, where the latter are commensurate with the in-plane orientation of the underlying Si (epitaxy). We show the use of these ultra-smooth Al films for highly reproducible charge-transport measurements across a monolayer of alkyl phosphonic acid as well as for plasmonics applications by directly patterning them by focused ion beam to form a long-range ordered array of holes. UFTD is a one-step process, with no need for annealing, peeling, or primer layers. It is conceptually opposite to high quality deposition methods, such as MBE or ALD, which are slow and near-equilibrium processes. For Al, though, we find that limited diffusion length (and good wetting) is critical for achieving ultra-smooth thin films.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2010

Molecular Electronics - Current Challenges

Molecular electronics is a flourishing area of nano-science and -technology, with a promise for cheap electronics of novel functionality. Here we outline the major challenges for molecular electronics becoming an established scientific discipline, including models with predictive power.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗